CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is sponsoring "Worship 2000," the denomination's first national conference devoted solely to worship, July 10-13 here at Navy Pier.
The national conference will include worship services and plenary and small-group presentations by well-known Christian speakers and visits to significant sites in the city. Worship 2000 builds on the "Alive in Christ conference" held in Orlando in November 1998.
Pastors, lay people, and church educators of the ELCA are among those expected to attend.
Plenary presentations include the "Future of the Liturgical Assembly," "The Honesty of Preaching: Silence and Speech," "Proclamation Through the Arts" and "Meal and Mission."
Small-group presentations include "Foundational Patterns for Worship," "Environment and the Visual Arts," "Images for Preaching," "Congregational Song," " the Ritual Nature of Music" and "Christian Formation."
Presenters include The Rev. Gordon Lathrop, professor of liturgy at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia and author of "Holy People: A Liturgical Ecclesiology," "Holy Things: A Liturgical Theology" and "What are the Essentials of Christian Worship?"; and Gail Ramshaw, professor of religion at LaSalle University, Philadelphia, and president of the North American Academy of Liturgy.
Although the primary location of Worship 2000 will be Navy Pier, the conference will extend to Rockefeller Chapel on the campus of the University of Chicago, Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Luke, St. James Episcopal Cathedral, St. Benedict the African Church, Fourth Presbyterian Church and St. Clement Church, all in Chicago.
Worship 2000 will also feature two festival Eucharists, a festival of congregational song featuring a broad spectrum of musical traditions, evening prayer with the world-renowned His Majestie's Clerkes -- a Chicago-based chamber choir and a banquet on Navy Pier, as well as a free evening to explore the city of Chicago.
The Rev. Paul R. Nelson, director for worship, ELCA Division for Congregational Ministries, said the conference will "model a diversity of music and style that encourages an eclectic mix of cultures in Lutheran worship" and "model services of Holy Communion, morning and evening prayer, musical praise and preaching, which keep Jesus Christ at the center, elements of which can be adapted for local use" and more.
"We want to provide a leadership development experience for people in worship, whether they are pastors or lay people," Nelson said. "This will also be a time to offer thanks to people for their ministries in ELCA congregations."
The event is being coordinated by the ELCA Division for Congregational Ministries and Augsburg Fortress Publishers, the publishing house of the ELCA, Minneapolis. ---------------------
More information about Worship 2000 is available on the Web at www.elca.org/dcm/worship/2000.html.
[*Michael N. Hoffman is a junior at the University of Kansas, Lawrence,
Kan. This summer he is an intern with ELCA News and Information.]
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
